Starter home with newborn (DC)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the responses, which address a definite concern of ours about not being to move, financially, by 1st grade. We're looking at Columbia Heights, AdMo (Woodly), Mt P, the Hill and between those. NoMa maybe too?

Definitely do either admo in boundary for osyter or mt pleasant for bancroft, deal, wilson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Condos are always bad investments.

I bought my condo in 2007 in mount Vernon square when people said not to do so. Bad neighborhood, crime, etc. We are listing this year at almost a 300,000 profit.

So, no...not always a bad investment.

[Anonymous]

You could go further out to Barnard Elementary near Ft. Totten or Takoma Elementary near the Takoma metro and get a larger rowhouse compared to a condo with a better elementary school than most of the areas you're considering buying a condo in. Or buy in Takoma Park MD.

[Anonymous]

OP, keep in mind that even once your child is in PK-3 or PK-4, you may not be able to save more money. We used PK-4 and ended up spending more on childcare that year (and since) than we did on daycare. There's aftercare (and potentially before care), camps (including late pickup @ 5:00-5:30) and "mini-camps" for the million days DCPS is closed for professional development or whatever (sometimes 1 day a week every week of the month).

So, like the other posters have said, plan to stay in this property for some time - trading up is hard. I'm with the earlier poster who recommended renting for another year or so, saving aggressively, and buying a place where you are comfortable staying for many years. Also, like other posters I'd highly recommend getting at least a 2 br.

Another thing is that the highest rated WOTP schools have fewer (or even no) before care or aftercare offerings - private offerings are easy to find but can be expensive. Many of the schools downtown/EOTP have free or very reduced cost care options and allow for a much earlier drop off.

There are a lot of variables...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Condos are always bad investments.

I bought my condo in 2007 in mount Vernon square when people said not to do so. Bad neighborhood, crime, etc. We are listing this year at almost a 300,000 profit.

So, no...not always a bad investment.

We bought an 800 sq ft 2 bd/2ba ground floor condo in the West End for $100k before it was hot (ie, before the Ritz Carlton was built across the street) and sold in 2010 for $450k...Not a bad investment...

[Anonymous]

Begging and pleading: please stop the "I bought my condo and made a million bucks" posts. The person who posted it is either dimwitted or a troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Begging and pleading: please stop the "I bought my condo and made a million bucks" posts. The person who posted it is either dimwitted or a troll.

I don't know. I bought a tiny 2 bedroom condo in an old building in a good school district 2010 and sold in 2014 for just 8,000 more. It sucked (we maybe broke even after agent fees IF you include taxes). In the meantime, everything else in the city increased by 20% a year (not every year, but we saw at least two years of that) and we were completely priced out of any 3 bedroom in Wilson.

NE now, looking at private for hs unless more options come online.

Condos are for suckers.

[Anonymous]

What I wanted most in the early parenting years:

- walkable amenities including grocery, pharmacy, Metro, greenspace
- sidewalks friendly enough for a stroller and then a toddling walker
- enough nearby parents to form a network

I feel fortunate that we found all that in a Petworth rowhouse and then "cashed out" for a bigger house when our kid was in K. (We bought 10 years ago and sold recently for double what we paid). That's the strategy I recommend: buy as much as you can afford in a neighborhood that has the basics and where your investment will appreciate and worry about schools later.

I understand why people say buy now in the boundary for the school you want, but you'll be amazed at how much things change within just a few years. I think the hardest part for us was the cost of childcare for the years under age 4. You've got to go lean in those years, so where and how you live makes a difference. For example, it's easier to find a nanny/sitter when you're close to public transportation. And if you've got a mortgage (plus maintenance) taking more than 45% of your HHI because you bought a fixer-upper in a "desirable" neighborhood, you're limited in what you can do for anything else. Unless you're staying home or a crafty finder of resources, count on child care eating more than $1000 per month until you can get into a public school. In ours and many other cases I know of, this was more like $1500 - 2000 for a household with two parents working full time.

If I were going condo I'd do it in Kalorama or Mt Pleasant- neighborhoods rich in amenities, families and resale value. If true urbanism works for you, expand to Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan, or Dupont. In each of those cases, the public school choices are more than acceptable past K. If you can afford a house you'll have greater appreciation, and I would buy in Petworth, Brookland, Brightwood, Takoma DC or Manor Park, where someone else will gladly buy from you in 5 or more years. There are probably places on the Hill that meet the criteria but I'm less familiar.

Bottom line is think about your near term needs first, worry about schools later. Just my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Op, how about a fixer upper town house in a improving neighborhood where neighborhood people at use pk3 and pk4. I agree with the advice that if you pick a neighborhood with some very basic amenities, the rest will come. I would suggest a strategy of picking a school where early Ed is fine, and then lottery every year for a charter. You will likely get into something by first or second grade. I like the areas up by Catholic university. If you were to look around the Hill, I would look inbounds for Miner and JO Wilson. I would by a home with a ten year horizon for how long it should fit your family. I would also pritotize access to green space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Begging and pleading: please stop the "I bought my condo and made a million bucks" posts. The person who posted it is either dimwitted or a troll.

I didn't make a million. Never said I did. But did I buy for 380K in 2008 and sell in one day on market in 2012 for 420K? Yes, yes I did. Speedy that offends you.

[Anonymous]

McClean Gardens is the answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Begging and pleading: please stop the "I bought my condo and made a million bucks" posts. The person who posted it is either dimwitted or a troll.

I don't know. I bought a tiny 2 bedroom condo in an old building in a good school district 2010 and sold in 2014 for just 8,000 more. It sucked (we maybe broke even after agent fees IF you include taxes). In the meantime, everything else in the city increased by 20% a year (not every year, but we saw at least two years of that) and we were completely priced out of any 3 bedroom in Wilson.

NE now, looking at private for hs unless more options come online.

Condos are for suckers.

Maybe just you don't know crap about real estate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Begging and pleading: please stop the "I bought my condo and made a million bucks" posts. The person who posted it is either dimwitted or a troll.

I didn't make a million. Never said I did. But did I buy for 380K in 2008 and sell in one day on market in 2012 for 420K? Yes, yes I did. Speedy that offends you.

NP here. Your rate of appreciation was less than 3% a year. That's middling to normal. However, the appreciation rate for rowhouses and SFHs in much of DC and close-in burbs (desirable parts, that is) has been astronomical over the past few years. So not sure why you keep bragging about your lackluster condo sale?

[Anonymous]

OP, get a two bedroom somewhere nice to live with schools ok through K. YOLO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Begging and pleading: please stop the "I bought my condo and made a million bucks" posts. The person who posted it is either dimwitted or a troll.

I didn't make a million. Never said I did. But did I buy for 380K in 2008 and sell in one day on market in 2012 for 420K? Yes, yes I did. Speedy that offends you.

NP here. Your rate of appreciation was less than 3% a year. That's middling to normal. However, the appreciation rate for rowhouses and SFHs in much of DC and close-in burbs (desirable parts, that is) has been astronomical over the past few years. So not sure why you keep bragging about your lackluster condo sale?

Wasn't lackluster to me. It helped with my down payment significantly. I'm very much enjoying reading your bitter words from my 3-story SFH.